My friends and I – Kat, Sander, Cindy, and Federica – hiked south out of the small village we had arrived at that day, armed with quality maps, a compass, and enough food for a week. Our destination was Maragua Crater, which we would reach in two days, all going well.
Our trek began by following a cobble stone road leading up into the hills, which surround the crater. It was possible to follow the road all the way into the crater, if we wanted, but that’s pretty boring for me. Because of our maps, I was confident that we could find a way through the hills using livestock trails and paths that the locals use to get around.
After an hour on the road, we veered off and cut through fields and up washed out ravines, to cut off a big section of switch-back road. While the climb up was a bit painful, we all ended up at the top, back on the road, with smiles on our faces.
We had such an interesting group dynamic. The only other person in the group who had any serious trekking experience was Kat. Nobody else knew how to read a map, much less a compass. As such, Kat and I were basically calling the shots, with the other three happy to go along with whatever. I definitely like to do things differently, and I suppose I do take risks that most people wouldn’t contemplate. On that trip, Kat reigned me in a bit, which was a good thing, because of the lack of experience of the group. Federica was just like me – up for anything, and with little thought for the consequences. It was really nice having Kat question my decisions, and to have someone along who I could pour over the map with. My relationship with Kat kinda reminded me of my business partnership with Matt, minus the dancing. Matt was always checking me in, providing numbers and solid reasoning about why an idea or approach to a challenge would work or not. That’s one of the reason’s our partnership was so successful, I think. Anyways, I could go about Kat for ages! Such an awesome human being.
A short walk up the road, we came across a really old church in the middle of nowhere. It was located about halfway between two villages, although both were about a two hours walk away. But the location was gorgeous – at the top of a pass, overlooking lush, fertile valleys and rolling hills. It’s a beautiful area.
We stopped for a rest there, while Federica tried to teach me how to do a handstand, which I still suck at. Kat and I had heard about a restored Inca path that started close to the church, and ended in a village far below on the other side of the mountain. We easily found the entrance to the path, as it was hewn into the side of a mountain, complete with a sign. We walked through the stone “gate” and, wow!
The mountains opened up before us, with stunning vista’s and deep mountain canyons. The Inca’s pick the craziest places to build roads! We could see the path snaking its way down the canyon walls, in some places traversing sheer cliffs, with the path carved into the rock face. And the Bolivian’s have done a marvelous job of restoring the route. I had the impression that I was back in time. Props to the Bolivian’s, there.
The valley we were hiking into was filled with the hazy golden light of the afternoon sun, the day was comfortably warm, and the path easy to walk on – Inca flat, as I came to know Inca roads. Fantastic trekking.
We arrived in the village just after night had fallen, and after a bit of searching, we found a patch of dry ground in the soggy fields to set up my tent and to have a candlelight dinner. Sander and Cindy didn’t have any camping gear, so they arranged for a room in town, while Kat, Federica, and myself made ourselves at home in my tent. As I was falling asleep, I heard a rustling outside and flicked on my torch, just in time to see a mouse scamper up the side of my tent – between the fly and the tent – over the top, and down the other side. Ugh. I don’t like rodents. I shut my brain off, and fell asleep.